A. The board of county commissioners may permit voters in the county to cast ballots in statewide elections at voter convenience centers through the use of consolidated precincts authorized pursuant to this section.

B. When precincts are consolidated and voter convenience centers are established for statewide elections:

(1) the resolution required by Section 1-3-2 NMSA 1978, in addition to the other matters required by law, shall state therein which precincts have been consolidated and the location of the voter convenience center within that consolidated precinct;

(2) any voter of the county shall be allowed to vote on a regular ballot at any voter convenience center in the county;

(3) each voter convenience center shall be a consolidated precinct composed of no more than ten precincts;

(4) each voter convenience center shall comply with the provisions of Section 1-3-7 NMSA 1978;

(5) each voter convenience center shall have a broadband internet connection and real-time access to the voter registration electronic management system;

(6) the county clerk may maintain any alternate voting locations or mobile alternate voting locations previously used in the same election open for voting on election day as a voter convenience center, in addition to the voter convenience center established within each consolidated precinct; provided that the locations otherwise meet the requirements of a voter convenience center; and

(7) the board of county commissioners may permit certain precincts to be exempted from operating as a voter convenience center or being a part of a consolidated precinct; provided that if the precinct is not designated as a mail ballot election precinct pursuant to Section 1-6-22.1 NMSA 1978 and the polling place for that precinct does not have real-time access to the voter registration electronic management system, voters registered in a precinct as described in this paragraph are permitted to vote at any voter convenience center on election day only by use of a provisional paper ballot, which shall be counted after the county clerk confirms that the voter did not also vote in the same election on any other ballot.

C. Unless the county clerk receives a written waiver from the secretary of state specifying the location and specific provision being waived, each voter convenience center shall:

(1) have ballots available for voters from every precinct authorized to vote at that voter convenience center;

(2) have at least one optical scan tabulator programmed to read every ballot style able to be cast at that voter convenience center;

(3) have at least one voting system available to assist disabled voters to cast and record their votes;

(4) have sufficient spaces for at least five voters to simultaneously and privately mark their ballots, with at least one of those spaces wheelchair-accessible;

(5) have sufficient check-in stations to accommodate voters throughout the day as provided in Section 1-9-5 NMSA 1978;

(6) have a secure area for storage of preprinted ballots or for storage of paper ballot stock and a system designed to print ballots at a polling location;

(7) issue a ballot to voters who have provided the required voter identification after the voter has signed a signature roster or an electronic equivalent approved by the voting system certification committee or after the voter has subscribed an application to vote on a form approved by the secretary of state; and

(8) be in a location that is accessible and compliant with the requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

D. As a prerequisite to consolidation, the authorizing resolution must find that consolidation will make voting more convenient and accessible to voters of the consolidated precinct and will not result in delays for voters in the voting process and that the voter convenience center will be centrally located within the consolidated precinct. The board of county commissioners shall give due consideration to input received from any local public body in the county regarding the location of voter convenience centers.

History: 1953 Comp., § 3-3-4, enacted by Laws 1975, ch. 255, § 30; 2011, ch. 131, § 3; 2015, ch. 145, § 11; 2018, ch. 79, § 4; 2019, ch. 212, § 37.

Cross references. — For the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, see titles 29, 42 and 47 of the U.S. Code.

For consolidated precinct defined, see 1-1-12 NMSA 1978.

For contents of notice of election, see 1-11-2 NMSA 1978.

The 2019 amendment, effective April 3, 2019, revised the provisions related to consolidated precincts, and provided for voter convenience centers and mobile alternate voting locations; in the section heading, added "voter convenience centers"; in Subsection A, after the subsection designation, deleted "Precincts may be consolidated by", after "county commissioners", deleted "for the following elections:" and added "may permit voters in the county to cast ballots in statewide elections at voter convenience centers through the use of consolidated precincts authorized pursuant to this section", and deleted former Paragraphs A(1) and A(2); in Subsection B, in the introductory clause, after "consolidated", deleted "for a primary and general election or a regular local election" and added "and voter convenience centers are established for statewide elections", added new paragraph designation "(1)" and redesignated former Paragraphs B(1) and B(2) as Paragraphs B(2) and B(3), respectively, in Paragraph B(1), after "consolidated and the", deleted "designation of the polling place. In addition, when consolidating precincts" and added "location of the voter convenience center within that consolidated precinct", in Paragraph B(2), after "allowed to vote", deleted "in any consolidated precinct polling location" and added "on a regular ballot at any voter convenience center", in Paragraph B(3), after "each", deleted "consolidated precinct in a primary or general election" and added "voter convenience center", deleted former Paragraph B(3), in Paragraph B(4), after "each", deleted "consolidated precinct" and added "voter convenience center", in Paragraph B(5), after "each", deleted "consolidated precinct polling location" and added "voter convenience center", in Paragraph B(6), after "alternate voting location", added "or mobile alternate voting locations", after "voting on election day", deleted "for any voter in the county" and added "voter convenience center", after "in addition to the", deleted "polling location" and added "voter convenience center", and after "consolidated precinct;", added "provided that the locations otherwise meet the requirements of a voter convenience center", in Paragraph B(7), after "may permit", deleted "rural" and added "certain", after "from operating as", added "a voter convenience center", after "real-time access to the", deleted "statewide", after "vote at any", deleted "consolidated precinct polling location" and added "voter convenience center", and after "also vote in the", deleted "rural precinct" and added "same election on any other ballot"; in Subsection C, replaced "consolidated precinct" with "voter convenience center" throughout the subsection; and in Subsection D, after "process and that the", deleted "consolidated precinct voting location" and added "voter convenience center", and added the last sentence.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, revised the list of elections where precincts may be consolidated by the board of county commissioners, removed from the governing body of a municipality and from local school boards for certain elections the authority to consolidate precincts, revised certain rules for consolidating precincts, and made minor technical changes; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(2), deleted "statewide special" and added "local", and deleted former Paragraphs A(3) and A(4), which related to countywide special elections and elections to fill vacancies in the office of the United States representative; deleted former Subsections B and C, which related to other entities' authority to consolidate precincts, and redesignated Subsection D as Subsection B; in Subsection B, in the introductory paragraph, after "general election" added "or a regular local election", and after "when consolidating precincts", deleted "for primary and general elections", added Paragraph B(3) and redesignated former Paragraphs D(3) through D(6) as Paragraphs B(4) through B(7); and deleted former Subsections E and F and redesignated Subsections G and H as Subsections C and D, respectively.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, required that each consolidated precinct polling location shall have sufficient check-in stations to accommodate voters throughout the day as provided in Section 1-9-5 NMSA 1978, and made other technical amendments; in Paragraph (4) of Subsection A, after "the office of", deleted "the", and after "United States", deleted "house of representatives" and added "representative"; in Paragraph (2) of Subsection D, after "consolidated precinct", added "in a primary or general election", and after "shall be", deleted "comprised" and added "composed"; in Subsection F, after the first occurrence of "vacancy in the office of", deleted "the", after "United States", deleted "house of representatives" and added "representative", after the second occurrence of "vacancy in the office of", deleted "the", and after "United States", deleted "house of representatives" and added "representative"; and added a new Paragraph (5) of Subsection G and redesignated the succeeding paragraphs accordingly.

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, authorized governing bodies of counties, municipalities and local schools to consolidate precincts and provided requirements and procedures for consolidating precincts and voting in consolidated precincts.